среда, 30 октября 2019 г.

Issues in financial management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Issues in financial management - Essay Example So firms make effort to keep their share price high, otherwise some other firm might be able to acquire a huge number of their shares and be successful in a hostile takeover (Metafilter) . A hostile takeover will result in the current management being dissolved by the company taking over. Progressive companies are always looking for new projects and opportunities, and to pursue them capital is an essential ingredient. Companies want to raise the price of their stock for future issues of stock (Investopedia). So in future when companies raise capital through stocks, they receive large amounts of premium; moreover even when it borrows, firms charge less interest on credible debtors, so it also helps in raising funds cheaply. Companies are concerned about their market capitalization; it refers to the size or worth of a business enterprise and can be calculated by multiplying the current market price with the number of shares outstanding. If the worth of the company falls, investors will be less interested in it and the company will lose its status (Henneman). Employee stock option/ownership is again a strong motivation for raising share price value for management. Employee stock options are a form of non-cash benefit that gives an employee the right to buy the company’s share at a particular price at a future date (Balsam, Chen and Sankaraguruswamy). So management puts an effort to raise the share value above that value to take benefit of this option. Moreover the management raises the stock price to please their stockholders and to maximize their value. The reason is that the shareholders elect the board of directors which elects the CEO. So the CEO has to please the board which then wants to please shareholders to get re-elected. Share price represents a number of aspects of a company. These aspects include company management, business’s current and future earnings and net assets, goodwill in the market, future outlook, credibility etc. The present

понедельник, 28 октября 2019 г.

United States Declaration of Independence and British Soldiers Essay Example for Free

United States Declaration of Independence and British Soldiers Essay 1. Examine the factors that led to the colonies’ declaration of independence from England. Make sure to explain WHY the colonies decided to break from their mother-country as well as any risks that doing so might have entailed. Also include your interpretation of whether or not breaking away from England was a good idea for the colonies. After the French and Indian War, Great Britain gained lots of territories but lost lots of money. Great Britain did not want to quickly occupy this territory so they decided to make the Quartering acts. The first quartering acts basically said that British Soldiers can board free at inns and stay at abandon houses. In order to make up for the loss of money. Great Britain put lots of taxes on imports and exports as well as other laws that limited Port Cities like Boston from making money off their ports. Taxation without representation was the main factor which led the American colonies to declare their independence from Great Britain. The Sugar Act was the first in the series of British Colonial taxation acts that provided fuel for revolutionary mood in American colonies. Shortly thereafter came the British Stamp Act. This time the new tax burden took form of official stamps that colonists had to purchase and that were required for legal contracts, newspapers, and other official paperwork. The protests in the colonies started as the news broke. This led to the creation of The Sons of Liberty. Under John Adams they organized riots and violent attacks to intimidate tax collectors. The Sons of Liberty decided to harass a couple of British Soldiers Stationed at Boston. The Soldiers had no choice but to fire on the crowd killing a few people, this was called the Boston massacre. Later a British Official decided to confront John Hancock for smuggling tea. Later the sons of liberty destroyed an entire shipment of British tea. This Caused Great Britain to bring in even harsher laws. These included the following, British soldiers and officials are to be tried in a British Court and not in the colonies. British Soldiers are to quarter any houses they want and board in them without the permission of the owner. The Colonies were prohibited from having their own town council meetings. This caused the Colonist to form the Continental Congress. John Adams, who represented Massachusetts, tried to convince the rest of the colonist to fight but he had trouble convincing other colonies, mostly Pennsylvania. A few meetings later with the help of Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, Thomas Jefferson Wrote the Declaration of Independence. After years of fighting the Parliament and the King finally recognized the colonies as their own separate country. Although, breaking from their mother-country would make The British Empire, the largest in the world at the time, become their enemies, the Colonies would be free of obeying any laws set out by the British, could create their own democracy and get France as an ally.

суббота, 26 октября 2019 г.

Mary Whiton Calkins Essay -- essays research papers

Mary Whiton Calkins was the first woman to be elected as president of the American Psychological Association in 1905. The majority of her adult life was dedicated to her work in the development of â€Å"psychology of selves.† She was very passionate about the relatively ‘new’ world of psychology and was highly active in the field of philosophy. Mary Whiton Calkins was not deterred in her ambitions because she was a woman, instead she used her struggles to gain a voice and to speak out against the oppression of women during the 1920’s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Born in 1863 to a Presbyterian minister and his wife, she grew up in a very tight-knit family as the oldest of five children. In 1880, the family moved to Massachusetts where they settled and built a home. Mary’s father wanted the best for his daughter, and designed and supervised Mary’s education until she graduated in 1882. Upon graduation, Mary attended Smith College with an advanced standing as a sophomore. In 1893, Mary’s sister passed away and Mary dropped out of college for a season, taking her classes through private lessons at home. Mary returned to Smith College in 1884 as a senior and graduated with a concentration on philosophy and classics. In 1886, two years after graduation from college, the Calkins family went to Europe for a holiday that lasted for sixteen months. Mary continued to expand her knowledge of the classics and upon returning to America, her father arranged an interview with the President of...

четверг, 24 октября 2019 г.

Nike vs Adidas Essay

Nikes business strategy In order to get a grasp of Nike and how its changing the world today with its innovative products, we must first take a glance at the history of the company and how it all began. Bill Bowerman was a nationally respected track and field coach at the University of Oregon and the founding father of Nike. Bill was always seeking to find ways in order to give his athletes a competitive advantage experiencing with track surfaces, energy drinks but most importantly- innovative running shoes. Nikes business strategy is committed to providing athletes around the world with innovative products and committed to serving athletes, rewarding shareholders and being an industry leader in the shoe market in particular. A golden handshake between Bil Bowerman and Phil knight began the era of Nike over 5 decades and what it is today. Nike has adopted a differentiation focus by implementing what Nike call a consumer focused category strategy. Nikes business strategy is committed to providing the most innovative products around the world to athletes and consumers across the globe. Nike carries an arsenal of products that allow the company to continue growth through increased market place capacity and penetration with decisions that involve outsourcing manufacturing to low-cost areas in the world, investing in research and development of innovative products and aggressive marketing strategies that are beyond conventional. Their consumer focused strategy enhances gives them great leveraging ability to deliver great product and elevated consumer experiences which will help grow the NIKE Brand. http://www.nikebiz.com/crreport/content/pdf/documents/en-US/full-report.pdf http://www.nikeresponsibility.com/ http://www.nike.com/nikeihm/about/business.shtml http://nikeinc.com/news/nike-inc-introduces-2015-global-growth-strategy http://www.slideshare.net/joshuasteinberger/adidas-nike-case-study http://nikeinc.com/pages/history-heritage http://prezi.com/kg1omedww1k7/global-strategy-presentation-nike/

среда, 23 октября 2019 г.

The HR Professional Map

In 2009 the CIPD conducted a report on what human resource practitioner's did, their roles, and activities. They interviewed practitioner's from a large number of professions across different sectors and the result was the production of the HR professional map, that does not focus on job titles, but instead focused on the skills and behaviours. It is simple, flexible and can be used as a whole or in part. Starting with and including the two core professional areas, it consists of ten professional areas, eight behaviours and four competency bands.â€Å"It describes what you need to know and what you need to do, within each professional area at four bands of professional competence†. There are eight behaviours that need to be displayed by HR professionals; these are, collaborative, driven to deliver, courage to challenge, role model, curious, decisive thinker, skilled influencer and personally credible. These behaviours are displayed in each of the professional areas. There are four bands of competence that define the contribution of professionals at each stage of their career, it details the relationship with client, service to client ,focus of activity and where time is spent.It also details measures of success and contribution and the relative skill balance between behaviours and technical ability. The two core professional areas that relate to all HR professionals, at all career levels and job roles, these are; Insight, strategy and solutions. There are five activity areas, building a picture, developing actionable insight, delivering situational HR solutions that stick and building capacity and capability that detail tasks that you are required to perform in each capability band. There are also four areas of knowledge.Business, contextual and organisational knowledge and HR professional knowledge. Leading HR, service delivery and information. There are six activity areas, along with tasks performed at each band level, theses are Personal leadership,Le ading others, Leading Issues:HR function design and service delivery,HR resource planning and development, delivering value and performance in HR teams and managing HR budgets and finances. The knowledge areas for this core professional area are Leadership, HR service delivery models, Commissioning services and Resource, Performance and Financial management.Employee relations is one of the remaining eight professional areas, an Employee relations professional is required to display knowledge of a strong understanding of employment law, or can access relevant,current and planned changes to laws relevant to the organisation. There is also a requirement to identify and act to mitigate risk to the organisation, have the knowledge of employee relations risks, and is able to coach managers to resolve issues, they will also know how to analyse, collate and feedback on communications and messages heard.Activities completed by an Employee relations practitioner are grouped under the headings , Employee relations strategy, policy and practice. Policy, advice and guidance. Complex casework. Collective negotiation and consultation and Health and well being. When an Employee relations Practitioner is displaying competences in band two they will be reactive in most activities, issue lead dealing with current or near term issues. Behaviours that I consider to be displayed by an Employee relations Practitioner are being a decisive thinker, driven to deliver, courage to challenge, personally credible and a role model.The activities I consider to be relevant to an ER advisor in the organisation I worked in are to develop comprehensive guidance to managers on ER issues, give accurate and appropriate advice , training and support managers. Work closely with managers, instructing them on their role and required actions, keeping appropriate records and represent the organisation at external tribunals. The skill balance between technical ability and behaviours displayed should be 50: 50 and a measure of success would be for issues/ problems satisfactory resolved and repeat business.

вторник, 22 октября 2019 г.

Personal Goals - Finding Educational Success essays

Personal Goals - Finding Educational Success essays In hindsight, it is easy to say to oneself, "I should have done this, instead of that." However, foresight revelation can be quite difficult when deciding and set educational goals. For myself, I have found three areas in which I see myself striving for as a student: educational satisfaction, mentoring, and personal achievement. When I made the decision to return to school, my first dilemma was choosing which university to attend. Two factors that I had to take into consideration were my schedule and the quality of education I would receive from the school. I was accustomed to attending a traditional campus setting with the traditional semester courses. However, at this point in my life, I needed more flexibility from a school without compromising the course content for my degree plan. I previously attended an on-line course for Business Management, so I was familiar with the quality of education that the University provided. The learning teams also provided a realistic work environment. Taking these things into consideration, I determined that this university was my best option. The program focuses more on the working adult versus other public universities in the area. The smaller course sizes allow fewer distractions with more concentration on the assignments. This will enable me to learn more about the scope of business management. Particularly the courses in Organizational Behavior, Employment Law, and E-business have been intriguing subjects to me. The courses at the university include oral presentations and PowerPoint assignments. This practice will help to enhance my presentation skills. As a trainer, presentations play a big role in my everyday work environment. I believe preparation is the key to any presentation and practice makes perfect. I need development in creating PowerPoint presentations, and this program provides the perfect opportunity to do so. Exposing myself to different audi ...

понедельник, 21 октября 2019 г.

Bishop Baraga essays

Bishop Baraga essays Baraga is one of the most beautiful places Ive ever seen. When you get to the head of Keweenaw Bay of Lake Superior, you see the Shrine of Bishop Baraga overlooking it in all its beauty. Towering thirty-five feet on the Red Rock Cliffs, its hard to miss. When I see it, I know Im home again, because Baraga is my home town. Though it doesnt seem like much, the population of Baraga County is just over eight thousand, seven hundred people, Baraga has quite a history. In it rests the reservation of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, which has over three thousand tribal members. In my essay, I will cover Bishop Frederic Baragas history and his missionary work, mostly centered in the Copper Country of Michigan. I also want to discuss the major influences he had on the Native Americans of the Chippewa tribe. Irenaeus Frederic Baraga was born in Slovenia on June 29, 1797. He came from a wealthy family, had an excellent education in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and at the University of Vienna where he studied law. Baraga could understand five languages. After he graduated, he renounced his engagement to be married, and decided to become a priest. He was ordained in 1823. Baraga answered a mission call in 1831 and traveled to America. His intention was to minister the Native Americans of the Upper Great Lakes region. He started in Arbre Croche, Wisconsin. There he established his first church and labored at the conversion of the Ottawas for two years and four months, baptizing five hundred and forty seven Indian adults and children. He then moved eastward along the south side of Lake Superior and established five missions altogether. Grand River (1833) and LaPointe (1835) were also in Wisconsin. His next mission, LAnse, brought him to Michigan in 1843 and Sault St. Marie in 1853. In LAnse, Baraga told the Native American Chippewas of his religion and how the other Indians o...

воскресенье, 20 октября 2019 г.

The difficulty and importance of measuring quality of hire

The difficulty and importance of measuring quality of hire What metrics really matter to recruiters and hiring managers and to the companies that employ them? The truth is, as a hiring manager you may be meeting certain predetermined targets that certainly look good, but are you crushing it where it really matters- namely, the quality of your hires? Sure, on the surface you can be meeting your company’s staffing needs and finding quality candidates for all open positions, but how do you know if they- and you by association- are adding real value to the organization?According to a recent article by Workable, â€Å"Quality of hire (QoH) measures the value new hires bring to a company†¦ In this context, ‘value’ usually means how much a new hire contributes to their company’s long-term success by completing tasks, improving their work and helping others†¦ Unsurprisingly, quality of hire is at the top of the list of useful performance KPIs. According to  LinkedIn’s 2016 global trends report, itâ€⠄¢s a priority for 40% of big companies worldwide (and 45% of small businesses). Efficiency recruiting metrics, like  time to fill  and  time to hire,  are trending up, but there are obvious reasons for why quality of hire is still so important†¦ Quality of hire is what makes the recruiting process worthwhile.†Okay, so it’s clear that quality of hire is important, but how can it be measured effectively? The truth is, it isn’t such an easy thing to quantify. You can really only measure QoH after a hire has been working for at least a few months- if not more.  And, in general, â€Å"quality† is a vague term that’s hard to define. The Society for Human Resource Management recently published an article that referred to quality of hire as the elusive Holy Grail of recruiting. According to the article,â€Å"Quality-of-hire metrics are critical to understanding the effectiveness of your company’s hiring process but, for many, figurin g out how to define the measurement is a challenge.†So, now you know that quality of hire is a critical recruitment metric and that it can be a very tricky thing to measure- but that shouldn’t inspire you to ignore it. Use the following strategies to measure QoH in your organization’s recruitment efforts, to help you get a firm handle on whether or not you’re contributing meaningfully to your company’s bottom line.MetricsWhen you’re ready to get serious about measuring QoH, you’ll need to determine which metrics you’re going to use. Many organizations, including LinkedIn, recommend using the following measures when assessing QoH:hbspt.cta.load(2785852, '9e52c197-5b5b-45e6-af34-d56403f973c5', {});Retention: How long are new hires staying at your company?Time to fill: How long does it take you to fill an open job position?Hiring satisfaction: How satisfied are hiring managers and key management personnel with a new hire? This can be measured on a predetermined numerical scale.Time to productivity: How long does it take for a new employee to get up-to-speed on all aspects of the job?Job performance: This one’s obvious- how effective is your new hire in the position? Typically, this can be measured by your company’s existing performance review/ratings process (assuming there is a process in place).Employee engagement: The flipside of job performance- is your new hire happy with the position and company?Cultural fit: A 360-degree measure of how well your new hire is acclimating to the new environment, team, and colleagues.Data collectionOnce you’ve determined the performance metrics that will be used to measure your QoH, you need to determine the best approach for data collection. Some statistics are quantifiable and easy enough to collect- turnover of employees, retention rates, and the meeting of sales goals by employees are simple numerical data that make sense. But, other calculations c an be less transparent. Your job will then be to track information about new hires via surveys. Fold them into your company’s systems from the start.Workable has a list of great surveys to implement into your systems, including:Hiring manager satisfaction surveys (focusing on the recruitment process)Surveys asking managers to rate a new hire’s performance (e.g. 6- and 9-month performance surveys)Employee engagement surveys  for new hires360 surveys asking managers, peers and team members about a new hire’s  culture fit  and performanceSurveys asking hired or rejected candidates to give feedback on the hiring process†MeasuresQoH can be measured in different ways. You can use the above-mentioned metrics to run a QoH assessment for each individual new employee, or you can create aggregate or average scores, which can span things like departments or various hiring timeframes. It all depends on what you’re interested in analyzing (i.e., per-hire Qo H vs. QoH trends across teams and over time, etc.). QoH measures can also be made in increments- for example, a new hire’s score can be measured at 6 months, a year, and 2 years from their start date.Once you decide to make QoH assessment a priority in your organization and have your metrics and data collection processes in place, you can analyze and manipulate the data in countless ways, depending upon your company’s needs, and once you incorporate QoH into your recruitment performance metrics you can count on seeing tangible benefits- both to your institution and to its new hires. Good luck!

суббота, 19 октября 2019 г.

China internet censorship is against human rights Essay

China internet censorship is against human rights - Essay Example (Watts, 2005) However, with the emergence of the internet, there came a new way in which people in China could express themselves directly. In line with the latter mentioned Draconian thinking, the Chinese government opted to engage in censorship of these internet websites so as to maintain power struggles. Human rights activists argue that this is fact an inhibition of the freedom of belief and the issue of democracy as it is. (Zittrain, 2006) The Chinese government normally resorts to a multiple mix of censorship methods to ensure that only the information they approve reaches Chinese internet users. In certain instances, the government may resort to the use of cyber police who conduct surveillance actions. In other situations, the government may resort to internet filtering technologies that may or may not be done regularly. Usually, one gets a message indicating that there is a network error or a problem with their IP. In other words, the government does not explain that it is in fact that the one responsible for censoring that site thus making it hard for the respective users.

Company Capabilities and Value Chain of IKEA Case Study

Company Capabilities and Value Chain of IKEA - Case Study Example A USP is defined as a cutting edge or a differentiation that separates one product or service from its competition. This, however, does not imply that the other products do not sell in the market. In a market, there are several products, each with a differentiation, each with a cutting edge – each having a separate USP associated, and the admirers of the particular benefit are retained by that product/service or brand. For example, in many regions, COKE is stronger in taste compared to PEPSI, and therefore, individuals having taste for stronger beverages prefer COKE, while others go for PEPSI. The critical point in this discussion is that both products sell, and sell well. This way, the capability of a firm to develop a USP has turned on its sale volumes. Subsequently, moving backward in the value chain, when a supplier sees the manufacturer doing well, the supply chain strengthens itself in terms of its operations and processes. Other than the operations in the value chain, t he operations within the manufacturing unit have also illustrated a positive impact. Some authors associate this feel like a current flowing in a wire; it becomes similar to the capabilities flowing back to where it is supplied. The ideas, values are engraved in the roots of the organization and from there, it circulates to all parts of an organization and the business itself indulges in boosting its unique edge for its customer values. Following is the discussion of the IKEA case that depicts a classic example of the same. Fundamentally, IKEA is all about the furniture of various sorts and types and kinds.

пятница, 18 октября 2019 г.

MT140 Unit 6 Discussion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MT140 Unit 6 Discussion - Research Paper Example This implies that the goals must include the adequate resources required. A goal just as the name suggests has a time constrain a feature that regulates the utilization of the resources in accomplishing each. With SMART goals and objectives, the system requires the creation of appropriate bureaucratic offices to enhance the supervision of the subordinate in order to ensure that they dedicate their time among other resources to attaining the goals (Anthony & Govindarajan 2007). Managers must have basic understanding of the organization. This requires the managers to have every information about the company and its resources at any given time. The case at Sandwich Blitz Inc. is negatively unique since the management does not monitor the operations of the company thus the utilization of the resources. Such loopholes create space for embezzlement of funds among other resources. Some employees earn for hours they have not worked for, such is a portrayal of the laxity in the management a feature that validates the need for the creation of a functional management control

Pre-fabricated building (classroom structure) Coursework

Pre-fabricated building (classroom structure) - Coursework Example In essence, despite its relative attraction, complete prefabricated construction is short-term and it is vital that multiple risks and health factors are taken into consideration when considering a complete modular approach in construction of classrooms. The health and safety risks related to prefabricated classroom construction are discussed. This is a more likely risk in prefabrication construction over traditional method of classroom construction. Given that most of the large classroom’s components are constructed off-site, a lot of trust is put on the manufacturer to construct precisely what is required. A single error can be costly to the entire structure. A case in example is the collapse of a parking garage in Miami, Florida. The parking garage, like many of its kind, was developed using prefabricated beams. Consequently, there was an increased need to ensure that the heavy beams, columns, as well as floor plans needed were perfectly aligned and constructed. Sadly, a disaster occurred with one section’s floor slabs disconnecting and falling down resulting into a domino effect. If such were to occur in a classroom, the casualty could be high considering its population density. Although the precise cause of the garage’s accident has not been deduced, investigators believe it was due to constructi on errors. Although the precise cause of the incident is still unknown, investigators believe that it was a construction error rather than a design fault. Conventionally, there is a lot of room for errors in prefab process, more particularly on arrival of pieces to the site. Areas likely to incur errors include the attachment process involving bolting together of the different components. Additionally, the tight time limit required to complete the tasks can lead to higher potential of mistakes in comparison to traditional on-site methods which are typically not associated with fast completion

четверг, 17 октября 2019 г.

An Lee - Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

An Lee - Final - Essay Example He is rescued and taken to hospital where he narrates his ordeal, but failing to convince policemen, narrates another tragic story, this time involving real human beings rather than animals we saw in the movie, but follows the same pattern, only animals substituted by human beings. The Brokeback Mountain is another film based on a novel by the same title written by Annie Proulx. It is about two farmhands employed to look after sheep in a ranch who get interested in each other and ends up in a gay relationship. They are spotted by their employers in his binoculars and he fires them. They go their separate ways and start their families. Ennis later on marries Alma and are blessed with two daughters while Jack goes to Texas, marries and has a son. The story is about these two husbands finding it difficult to deal with the truth that they are gay. It is easier for them to live a lie than come out in the open. This secrecy continues until Jack visits after four years and the two men are excited to seeing each other after the long period. They lock lips while Alma is looking them through the window, confirming her fears. She is repulsed by this behavior, and in the end she announces to her father, in the presence of Ennis, that she is remarrying. Ennis rejects the offer of settling down with Jack, letting him go on to Mexico to look for love in bars and alleys. Ennis is fearful of living with another man whom he loves dearly. A particular incidence in his childhood is real to him; a scene of a man being pulled by his private parts until it rips off for the crime of ‘living’ with another man in a homosexual relationship. The man is eventually killed. Ennis would rather die than have himself married another man he truly loves. In both films, Ang Lee appears to have broken new ground, and taken film industry to new levels. Life of Pi is a 2012 film

Accident Victim Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Accident Victim - Essay Example Generally, duty of the psychiatric aide had involved the bathing of patients who were regarded as helpless. Each day, she is supposed to give nine (9) of the patients two rounds of bath – in the morning and evening. This had gone on as a daily and very normal routine till the present accident occurred. She reports that while she was giving one of patients his bath, she heard the sound of what was supposed to be struggling or fighting in the open of the inner bathroom where three other patients where waiting for their turn to both. Knowing the mental condition of the patients as not too stable, she rushed out to go and see what the problem was. She reports that normally the patients formed a queue and waited for their turns to be bathed. She acknowledges that the patients enjoy the bathing section and so there is normally brawl over who takes the first spot on the queue. When she went to see what was happening, it was reported to her that one of the guys was trying to jump the queue. As she was taking explanation from the person supposed to be the complainant, the accused suddenly pushed the complainant. She said she tried catching the patient who was pushed so that he could not fall but unfortunately, she fell together with the patient. The accident took place on the 6th of September. Because she was trying to save the patient from falling, she was the one who fell directly on the ground with the patient who was pushed falling on her as well. The fall resulted in fracture. Events leading on has made the doctor diagnose her with osteoporosis, which is explained by the New York City State Department of Health (2011) as â€Å"a disease that causes bones to become thin, weak and break easily.† This condition caused the interviewee to miss work for eleven working days because she was initially put under intensive care unit of the

среда, 16 октября 2019 г.

An Lee - Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

An Lee - Final - Essay Example He is rescued and taken to hospital where he narrates his ordeal, but failing to convince policemen, narrates another tragic story, this time involving real human beings rather than animals we saw in the movie, but follows the same pattern, only animals substituted by human beings. The Brokeback Mountain is another film based on a novel by the same title written by Annie Proulx. It is about two farmhands employed to look after sheep in a ranch who get interested in each other and ends up in a gay relationship. They are spotted by their employers in his binoculars and he fires them. They go their separate ways and start their families. Ennis later on marries Alma and are blessed with two daughters while Jack goes to Texas, marries and has a son. The story is about these two husbands finding it difficult to deal with the truth that they are gay. It is easier for them to live a lie than come out in the open. This secrecy continues until Jack visits after four years and the two men are excited to seeing each other after the long period. They lock lips while Alma is looking them through the window, confirming her fears. She is repulsed by this behavior, and in the end she announces to her father, in the presence of Ennis, that she is remarrying. Ennis rejects the offer of settling down with Jack, letting him go on to Mexico to look for love in bars and alleys. Ennis is fearful of living with another man whom he loves dearly. A particular incidence in his childhood is real to him; a scene of a man being pulled by his private parts until it rips off for the crime of ‘living’ with another man in a homosexual relationship. The man is eventually killed. Ennis would rather die than have himself married another man he truly loves. In both films, Ang Lee appears to have broken new ground, and taken film industry to new levels. Life of Pi is a 2012 film

вторник, 15 октября 2019 г.

Menu project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Menu project - Assignment Example chopped fresh red chili without seeds 2 cloves Bunch fresh basil with leaves picked and stalks chopped 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds Sea salt 1 pound of chopped, seeded and cored tomatoes ? cup of soft brown sugar ? cup red wine vinegar Directions Place the vegetables, ginger, olive oil, chili, basil stalks, garlic, cloves and coriander seeds in a saucepan. Season these mixtures with a pinch of salt and the pepper. While often stirring, cook in moderate heat for between 10 and 15 minutes until softening. Add tomatoes and then 1? cups of cold water. Then bring this to boiling and gently simmer until it reduces by about a half. Add basil leaves and whiz using a hand blender and push through sieve twice. Put the sauce in a clean pan and then add the sugar and vinegar. Heat the pan and simmer until it thickens then correct seasoning to taste (see Appendix I). Introduce the ketchup to jars and allow for cooling before tightening the lids (see Ap pendix II). Keep stored in a refrigerator. This should be kept for up to six months. Ingredient Comparison In both the homemade and the Heinz tomato ketchups, natural sources have been used for flavoring. Though Heinz (2013) does not disclose in its ingredients the exact sources of these flavorings, it appreciates that natural flavors were used. On the other hand, the homemade ketchup has the concentrations of the seasonings varied to get the appropriate flavor. Additionally, the powder from coriander seeds has been used for flavoring purposes. While the brown sugar sweetens the homemade ketchup, Heinz does not disclose its sweetener which could be included in one of its ingredients. Nonetheless, it should be appreciated that the tomatoes used contributes to a large extent to the flavor of the ketchup hence the ability to determine the flavor of homemade ketchup by varying the kind of tomatoes used. The major ingredient in both the processed and homemade tomato ketchup is the tomato . This forms the basis of having this food product. However, a difference in the form in which the tomatoes are used would be noticed. The homemade tomato ketchup uses tomatoes in raw form, as would be picked from the farm (Oliver, 2008). These would be sliced and taken through the recipe directions for making the ketchup. But in the processed Heinz tomato ketchup, tomato concentrate made from red ripe tomatoes would be used. This concentrate resembles the product of boiling and gently stirring the initial ingredients as described in the recipe direction for the homemade ketchup. It would also be critical to point out the fact that Heinz particularly uses red ripe tomatoes hence the deep red color of its final product (see Appendix III). But as seen in the recipe, homemade tomato ketchup gives the option of using these red tomatoes or raw tomatoes or the orange ones depending on the desired end product. Furthermore, it would be appreciated that Heinz uses various syrup forms  œ corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup – to achieve the desired viscosity for the final product. These are commercially available syrups. On the other hand, the homemade ketchup makes use of olive oil to achieve the same effect. Finally, while the homemade tomato ketchup has its ingredients well outlined, Heinz generalizes its ingredients. Apart from the natural flavors, it also gives spices as its ingredients (Heinz, 2013). These general terminologies conceal the exact

понедельник, 14 октября 2019 г.

Steinbecks of Mice and Men and the Pearl Essay Example for Free

Steinbecks of Mice and Men and the Pearl Essay Although John Steinbeck is recognized for the themes of his novels, including the struggles of the working class and social injustice, he is also known for his excellent use of the literary elements. In two of his novels, Of Mice and Men and The Pearl, Steinbeck uses different types of tone, diction, and syntax to enhance meaning and strengthen the impact of his message. In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck presents an innocent tone through his character, Lennie, to create meaning in the piece. The tone is brought out through Lennie’s close following of George, which the reader sees when, â€Å"he pulled his hat down a little more over his eyes the way George’s hat was,† (page 4 OMM). This gives the reader the idea the Lennie looks up to George as a role model, as a son would to his father. This child-like perception of Lennie is present throughout the whole of the story and pulls out a strong emotional factor that gives the piece meaning at the close. Steinbeck uses a different tone, one of realization, to enforce meaning in The Pearl. When Kino’s, â€Å"brain cleared from its red concentration and he knew the sound the keening, moaning, rising hysterical cry from the little cave in the side of the stone mountain, the cry of death,† (page 114 TP). The shift in his thought process shows the reader that Kino’s actions were in protection of the pearl, and not his family. This is one of many scenes in the book that signify the engulfing of Kino’s mind in greed. The neglecting of his family gives the reader a sense of disapproval toward Kino and deepens the meaning in the value of the moral that greed is evil. Steinbeck uses different diction in each of these stories, but it serves a common purpose of helping the reader understand the different characters’ backgrounds and experiences, which increases the meaning of each story. The characters in Of Mice and Men use the unique vernacular of American migrant workers in the 1930s. George uses words like â€Å"ain’t† and â€Å"y’all† and Lennie speaks often about living, â€Å"offa the fatta the lan’,† (page 57 OMM). These examples of informal diction give the reader the idea that Lennie and George are uneducated and poor. This colloquial diction not only enriches the meaning of the story, but also brings the characters to life. In The Pearl, Steinbeck uses calm and simple diction to better portray the depth of the characters’ feelings and moods. For example, through his words, Kino shows that the pearl has become more than just a solution to his problems; it â€Å"has become [his] soul . . . If [he] give[s] it up, [he] shall lose [his] soul, (page 87 TP) John Steinbeck uses syntax to engage the reader and set the mood of each scene in both books. By doing this, the meaning in each scene is deepened. However, the syntax used in The Pearl is different from that used in Of Mice and Men. In The Pearl, Steinbeck uses listings to portray each scene thoroughly. At one point, he describes the evils of one night, when â€Å"the coyotes cried and laughed in the brush, and the owls screeched and hissed over their heads. And once some large animal lumbered away, crackling the undergrowth as it went,† (page 91 TP). This gives the rest of the scene a sense of depth in its meaning due to the fact that the reader knows all that is happening and feels the tension in the atmosphere. Steinbeck’s description of the Salinas River at the beginning of Of Mice and Men consists of one long sentence that picks up on all aspects of the scene. â€Å"On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees—willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool,† (page 1 OMM). Through this elongated sentence structure, Steinbeck better portrays the joyfulness and tranquility of the river, which pulls the reader into the scene and creates more meaning in the actions that take place. In both Of Mice and Men and The Pearl, John Steinbeck puts his own twist on tone, diction, and syntax, which gives each novel’s message more importance and meaning. But the meaning itself is always up to the reader to â€Å"take [†¦] from [the novel], and read his own life into it,† (Prologue TP).

воскресенье, 13 октября 2019 г.

Modern European History Essay -- essays research papers

Modern European History 1. What did Paul Valery mean in saying that the mind of Europe doubted itself profoundly?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before 1914, people in Europe believed in progress, peace, prosperity, reason, and rights of individuals. During that time, people began to believe in the Enlightenment, industrial developments were just starting and scientific advances began to take place. People then really believed in progression and further developments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unfortunately, World War I broke out. Nevertheless, the optimistic people of Europe still did not doubt the outcome and were so convinced that it was not going to have any long term effects. They looked toward happier times and hoped life will go back to where it was before. But little did they know, as a result of the war, total war broke out and crushed all the hopes and accomplishments that the people had established. This shocking reality was unbearable and uncomprehending to the people's hopes and dreams. And as this lasted over the years, the age of anxiety was created. People didn't know or what to expect anymore. They did not know what was going to happen after the war. They're so devastated by the war that many who were still alive lost faith and all hopes. Many intellectuals began to doubt the Enlightenment and even the future of Western civilization. This state of uncertainty and unpredictability brought out many modern philosophers of that time. One of them was a Fren...

суббота, 12 октября 2019 г.

Legal Advice - Aqua Sciences, Inc. Essay -- Business Law

Aqua Sciences Inc. is a Miami-Beach based company that develops innovative water technologies and brings the water everywhere â€Å"that human beings live.† This company creates new technologies that extract water from the moisture in the air. Thus, the water can be found everywhere, even in low humidity conditions. The newest technology equipment already includes Emergency Water Plant – mobile enclosed self-sustaining unit that can produce 2,600 gallons of water per day without additional power (Aqua, 2012). The major initiative the Aqua Sciences Inc. plans to do is to produce new Micro Water Plants, Rooftop Oasis, and Water Farms. Micro Water Plant will capture the solar heat through the solar panels and use the solar energy for pumps and fans. Rooftop Oasis will be the movable water plants for private residences or commercial buildings. Water Farm will be a large scale water facility that will be able to deliver 100,000 gallons of water and more per day. All of these tree initiatives plan to be distributed in and outside of the United States. Aqua Sciences, as any other businesses in the same area, has to operate under many strict laws. Administrative law is the law relating to the powers and procedures of administrative agencies. In the case of Aqua Sciences’ initiatives, the most relevant laws would be those of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 1970’s, the EPA received the authority for setting standards, giving permits, coordinated water quality programs, and ensured that the states enforced the national standards (Kochtcheeva, 2009). Under the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) signed in 1974, the Water Farm and Micro Water Plant projects of Aqua Sciences would be considered as public water systems.... ...age, D. W. (2010). Managers and the legal environment:2010 custom edition (6th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Federal Water Pollution Control Act. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/laws_regulations/docs/fedwaterpollutioncontrolact.pdf Goldscheider, R. (2002). Licensing Best Practices : The LESI Guide to Strategic Issues and Contemporary Realities. Wiley. Kochtcheeva, L. V. (2009). Administrative Discretion and Environmental Regulation: Agency Substantive Rules and Court Decisions in U.S. Air and Water Quality Policies. Review Of Policy Research, 26(3), 241-265. doi:10.1111/j.1541-1338.2009.00381.x License. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/license New Water System Capacity Development Planning Manual. (2003). Retrieved from http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/drinkingwater/docs/CDPlngManual403.pdf

пятница, 11 октября 2019 г.

Economics: The Functions of Money

1. What are the functions of money? (5) Money is anything that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value, and occasionally, a standard of deferred payment. Money's most important function is as a medium of exchange to facilitate transactions. Without money, all transactions would have to be conducted by barter, which involves direct exchange of one good or service for another. The difficulty with a barter system is that in order to obtain a particular good or service from a supplier, one has to possess a good or service of equal value, which the supplier also desires. In other words, in a barter system, exchange can take place only if there is a double coincidence of wants between two transacting parties. Store of value. In order to be a medium of exchange, money must hold its value over time; that is, it must be a store of value. If money could not be stored for some period of time and still remain valuable in exchange, it would not solve the double coincidence of wants problem and therefore would not be adopted as a medium of exchange. 2. Explain why gold no longer performs the functions of money in the British economy? (5) The point of the gold-exchange standard is that it cannot last; the piper must eventually be paid, but only in a disastrous reaction to the lengthy inflationary boom. As sterling balances piled up in France, the U. S. , and elsewhere, the slightest loss of confidence in the increasingly shaky and jerry-built inflationary structure was bound to lead to general collapse. Thus the failure of inflated banks throughout Europe, and the attempt of hard money. France to cash in its sterling balances for gold, led Britain to go off the gold standard completely. Britain was soon followed by the other countries of Europe. The gold exchange standard was one of the elite collectivist bankers crowning accomplishments. But more coups were yet to come. In 1933 the bankers convinced Roosevelt to call in all private holdings of gold – essentially taking the money of the people. Gold was outlawed. Paper money was no longer redeemable in gold. This is why gold is not considered money in Britain. 3. Why are credit cards not money? (4) Money, in any form, is generally recognized as a very liquid asset, that is an asset that can be quickly converted to cash or used as cash Credit cards work in the same manner as a loan. If you buy an item using a credit card, the credit card company will pay the shopkeeper today and you will have an obligation to pay the credit card company when your credit card bill comes in. This obligation to the credit card company does not represent money. The money part of the transaction between you and the credit card company only comes into play when you pay your bill. So credit cards are not considered to be money. 4. Why is money in the current account of banks considered as money? (4) We have different types of accounts; savings accounts, current accounts and so on. But in this case, the bank rather takes the money you are supposed to receive as interest from you. That interest becomes a source of income to the bank. 5. What would you expect to happen to the rate of interest if money supply increases? Why? Draw a Diagram. (12) If money supply increases, the rate of interest will decrease. This is because the more money is available, the more loans are available. Competition for borrowers reduces the real interest rate. The NOMINAL interest rate may increase if the increase in the real money supply causes inflation. But in the short run, the interest rate falls, but as prices rise the interest rate will rise up again

четверг, 10 октября 2019 г.

Childbirth and Different Bursting Emotions

The miracle of life is the single most experience that every woman will remember in her lifetime. Almost every detail of the whole process can be definitely recalled by the mother, no matter how long it had happened. Every woman may have their own unique story of the parturition in every child she may have. But one thing is for sure, this amazing event is life changing, both an ending and a beginning. It marks the impending end of gestation and the start of a new family structure. The labor process is a time of different bursting emotions. There is the excitement of seeing the baby for the first time; fear of what might occur during the culmination of pregnancy and the unforgettable, excruciating, agonizing pain of contractions. The transition of events is very hard, long and rewarding all at the same time. Giving birth has been divided into three stages. The first stage of dilatation is the beginning of true labor contractions and ending when cervix becomes fully dilated. The progress and length of this stage varies from every woman to another. But definitely, the pain goes incredible as the contractions started coming closer and closer together. The mother may experience feelings of helplessness, restless, irritable, anxious and even out of control as contractions become stronger. The second stage is from descent to the birth of the newborn. This is the bittersweet part from the entire horrible aches that had transpired. This is the long awaited moment when you finally meet the precious one, actually touching his or her tiny hands and giving her warmth with your own bosom. I would like compare this journey into zealously unwrapping a huge special package that no matter how you have known what is inside of the gift; one will still be caught in awe upon laying eyes of the presence. The feeling is better than receiving that first I love you from someone you fell in love with. Lastly, from the time the baby is born until following the delivery of the placenta. There will be a sudden gush of blood. The placenta separates first at edge and delivers with maternal surface evidence. Now, the roller coaster drive of pregnancy ends. Labor normally launch when a fetus is sufficiently mature to cope with extra uterine life, yet not too large to cause mechanical difficulties in delivery. In some instances, labor initiates before the fetus is mature. On the other hand, labor may be delayed until the fetus and the placenta have both passed beyond the optimum point for birth and this is now termed post mature birth. In fact, some women need to be induced with medications to start or hasten labor. If all interventions fail, the mother must deliver her child without expulsion and must immediately need to submit to cesarean section, or surgical removal of a child, instead of having the baby pass through the birth canal. In summary, it can be said that while there is a general expected trend in the way each child birth will go, there is really no predicting the outcome for each individual mom. In fact, the only predictable factor of parturition may be variance. Inevitably, even how thoroughly science can explain the process of pregnancy until the expulsion of the newborn; it always feels surreal and marvelous how a person can bestow another life from her.

Research Qualitative Review

This paper will critique the qualitative study written by Peiters, et al. (2011), which looks at the journey and barriers older women diagnosed with breast cancer must hurdle to receive treatment. This research was to reveal the complexities of breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and life in general for women greater than seventy-years old. To achieve this task, Peiters, et al. , (2011) implemented the constructivist grounded theory. The data analysis approach appropriately utilized for this research was constructivist grounded theory. This theory allows for self reflection during data gathering and analysis, which divulges any influential prejudices that may arise from both researcher and study subject. Influencing this theory is symbolic interactionism which emphasizes ones’ ultimate ambition and the lifelong social synergy that transpires to achieve it (Peiters, et al. , 2011). The recruitment of participants was obtained by posting flyers in public areas in Southern California and two bordering states. The locations targeted were oncology departments, cancer support agencies, oncologist offices, churches, senior community centers, and retirement centers. Newspaper advertisements, as well were used to elicit participation. Purposive and snowballing techniques were utilized. Screening for eligibility, clearly defined, was done via telephone for inclusions which ended with eighteen women all over the age of seventy, completed treatment for treatment for breast cancer within the last three to fifteen months. Informed consent was obtained and interviews took place mainly in homes or apartments lasting up to two and a half hours. One limitation of the study was that second interviews stopped at only ten women and may have excluded valuable new incite to the study, although researchers claim that second interviews revealed no new data, hence implying data saturation. Adequate thick description was given of the participants, setting and study processes to ensure transferability (Polit & Beck, 2012). Interviews were guided by a questionnaire and responses were tape recorded, followed by verbatim transcription. Examples of interview questions were provided for the reader to convey effectiveness of the process (Polit & Beck, 2012). Other helpful tables provided were the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Category schemes revealed are three barriers that theses breast cancer survivors faced, which were lack of information, preexisting co-morbidities and multiple health care appointments. These schemes prove logical for the study as they helped elaborate the purpose of the research. Multiple passages from the participants were extracted to give evidence of well interpreted data and emotional state of the participants. Data analysis was systematic initial coding, followed by focused coding using ATLAS. ti, version 6. to magnify reoccurring data. To create a audit trail, memos, field notes and diagrams were written. Two researchers, one of them being the principle investigator and the other well versed in grounded theory analysis, were responsible for coding and analyzing the data. In nursing the level of evidence provides assurance for the methods that were utilized for the study (Polit & Beck, 2012). This research would qualify as level VI, given that it is a single descriptive, qualitative, physiologic study specific to women aged seventy or older and their journey through life with breast cancer. The goals of this research are affirmed by the extensive detailed interviews of eighteen older women and their struggles with breast cancer. Each participant plummeted through barricades to recieveing health care. The importance of an oncology nurse navigator emerged as a valuable role to help clarify the process of obtaining services for healthcare. Meticulous care was taken in the transcription of taped interviews and explicit excerpts were bestowed to the reader to ensure trustworthiness.

среда, 9 октября 2019 г.

How does the oil play a big role in Kuwait economy Essay

How does the oil play a big role in Kuwait economy - Essay Example Kuwait has beautiful sandy beaches along the turquoise blue Gulf. In the southwest of the country, the landscape rises to a maximum elevation of 306 meters (1,004 feet). Islam is the predominant religion of Kuwait. Most of the Kuwaitis are Muslims are generally very conservative and governed by traditions and practices from very long ago. The Kuwaiti society is very family oriented. Kuwaiti families are usually quite large, and many different families are interconnected and related to one another through ancestry and marriage. For a country of such small size, Kuwait boasts a very broad and rich culture, containing a particular heritage and encompassing certain trends whose roots are embedded in the cultural traditions of antiquity. Kuwait holds a strong tie to its past, and the government takes pride in its assistance in the retaining of historical artifacts and antiques, as well as in the preservation of the arts and modern cultural endeavors. The official language of Kuwait is Arabic. All members of the government are required to have a working knowledge of Arabic in order to be eligible for the post. English is also widely spoken and is the country's official second language. Kuwait's government plays a dominant role in the country's economy. The government employs 92 percent of the population. Kuwait was the first Arab country in the Gulf to have an elected parliament. Moves to change the male-dominated political structure culminated in the granting of full political rights to women in 2005. Kuwait's most pressing environmental challenge is its limited water resources. In this regard, Kuwait has developed some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities, which now provide much of Kuwait's water. History of oil in Kuwait. Until the discovery of oil in the region in 1911 by a British concern, the Arab states in the gulf were weak and the faltering economies. The numerous rulers in small pockets kept up their autonomy with the help of the British. The Sultan of Omar was the largest of them all and but he couldn't further his rule because of the resistance. The Anglo Persian Oil Company or APOC was the first to start producing oil in Iran. In 1932 Standard Oil Company of California (Socal) discovered oil in commercial quantities in Bahrain. Socal then obtained a concession in Saudi Arabia in 1933 and discovered oil in commercial quantities in 1938. This triggered a flurry of oil exploration in the Gulf States in the 1930's. United States and Britain were the two main nations competing for the oil concessions. The new Iranian Government of Reza Shah Pahlavi revoked APOC's concession. Although the Shah and the British later agreed on new terms, the threat of losing Iranian oil convinced the British in particular that they must find other sources. The small states of the Persian Gulf were a natural place to look due to similar geological conditions to those in Iran. This did not mean immediate wealth for the Arab countries. Large deposits of oils were found in Bahrain. Oman was unable to export until 1967 and it was 1950 by the time oil rich states found it to be commercially beneficial. The oil fields in Kuwait were developed the fastest, and by 1953 that nation had

вторник, 8 октября 2019 г.

Financial Reporting Disclosures in the Australian Corporate Sector Essay

Financial Reporting Disclosures in the Australian Corporate Sector - Essay Example More, the standards require that the identifiable intangible assets must be disclosed by means of subdividing the assets into classes with similar identifiable intangible assets being grouped together with regards to their usage and operations. Cash generating units impairment testing should be through the process of comparing the carrying amounts of identifiable intangible assets, goodwill working capital, and PPE of the cash-generating units. It is also important to note that valuation approaches during disclosure needs to be financial ratios and discounted cash flow. The company also needs to ensure that sensitivity analysis is done in case there are changes in key assumptions used during financial reporting. The importance of carrying out a sensitivity analysis to changes in key assumptions is due to the need to evaluate variations and their effects on financial reporting. Sensitivity analysis will also enable corrective actions to ensure compliance of financial reporting require ments. According to analysis of the company’s reporting practice, forecast must be corrected to be based on present value of future expected future cash flows. Forecasts on future cash flows must also be based on an established cyclic cash flow pattern. Table of Contents Introduction Identifiable Intangible Assets Impairment Testing on Cash Generating Units Calculation of Discount Rates and Growth Rates Sensitivity analysis to Key Assumption changes Financial Reporting Practice of CCA LTD Recommendations Financial Reporting Disclosures in the Australian Corporate Sector Introduction Corporate companies are subject to Corporations Act, which is being promoted by ASIC reviewers to ensure compliance with financial reporting requirements. The ASIC further provides non-compliance allowance for specific requirements to corporations. Confidence of investors and integrity levels in the Australian Corporate sector is largely boosted by the ASIC activities of monitoring corporationâ₠¬â„¢s compliance to financial reporting requirements. Users of financial reporting and auditing information are able to make informed decisions about the reliability and relevance of financial reporting disclosures in the Australian Corporate Sector. There is need for Coca Cola Amatil LTD to ensure that their financial reporting standards adhere to the professional and legal requirements of the corporations act. The objective of these financial reporting disclosures report is to ensure that Coca Cola Amatil LTD adheres to corporate Act’s requirements of financial reporting disclosures in the Australian Corporate Sector. Identifiable Intangible Assets The corporate act specifies reporting standards that must be adhered to when disclosing information regarding identifiable intangible assets such as names of brands, relationship with customers and written off intangible assets of Coca Cola Amatil LTD. The company should disclose identifiable intangible assets that would have bee n recognized during business formation or combinations and research and development assets. These intangible assets do not include assets that are recognized through contract basis or any other means that is legal. During financial reporti

воскресенье, 6 октября 2019 г.

Differentiated Instruction in Elementary Math Research Paper

Differentiated Instruction in Elementary Math - Research Paper Example This leaves the teacher with a need to fulfill their educational requirements while tackling a disability or learning capability issue within the classroom. It is here that I will cover what research has proven to be effective, some examples that I have ascertained and how I can implement them in my own classroom setting. There are multiple researches that have been done in regard to differentiated instruction, but I will only be focusing on the examples of what has been shown to be effective and what appeals to me within this research. Keywords Differentiated instruction, interdisciplinary teaching, integrated learning, thematic learning, Universal Design for Learning, Multiple Intelligence Theory, IQ test. Differentiated Instruction Currently, there are more than 4 million students that lack grade-level proficiency in reading and mathematics. One reason for this is their need for individualized instruction, supplementation and modifications to ensure proper cognitive access within the general education curriculum. This need is rarely met, as teachers do not have the training that they need to ensure these lower functioning students are able to benefit from the instruction provided. Part of this issue is that students are coming from increasingly diverse backgrounds, in which the expectations of their parents and the normalcy within the community are at odds with the current schooling methods (Lapkoff &Li, 2007). These current schooling methods are ineffective to a large number of students, because of their diversity, ethnically, culturally and cognitively. These are the students that fall through the cracks, due to the standard approach to education. This, in turn, causes higher rates of drop outs, poorer performance on standardized testing and lower graduation rates. (Lipsky, 2005). The solution is differentiated instruction. According to Tomlinson (2004) differentiated instrcution is â€Å"ensuring what a student learns, how he/she learns it, and how the s tudent demonstrates what he/she has learned is a match for that student’s readiness level, interests and preferred mode of learning.† Literature Review This is particularly important in regards to students with cognitive disabilities. An educator that provides their students with a reduced emphasis on whole-class instruction and an increase in the use of peer-assisted learning, has been shown to heighten students learning abilities, whether considered gifted or not. There have been many studies that also verify the fact that differentiated instruction works much more efficiently than other forms of instruction, but show the reasons why this is not implemented in many schools. They are simply the demands of the teachers themselves to follow a set curriculum and learning sets within a given period of time, leaving many students behind. This has given birth to a creative solution called REACH (Rock, et al., 2008). This type of interdisciplinary teaching is used to highligh t the steps necessary for implementation of differentiated instruction. The acronym stands for: Reflect on will and skill; Evaluate the curriculum; Analyze the learners; Craft research-based lessons; and Hone in on the data. It is imperative that the educator take these steps to seriously

суббота, 5 октября 2019 г.

Understanding the career and role of health insurance professionals is Essay

Understanding the career and role of health insurance professionals is essential - Essay Example So this suggests that an accounting oriented job profile will suit me well. Having identified this possible career direction, I am yet open to explore other interesting options. I believe that sales and customer services are challenging options requiring dynamism and enterprise on part of the aspirant. As of now I only have limited exposure to health insurance. I’ve visited the websites of industry organization such as AAPC and AHIMA and carried out some preliminary research. I discovered to my pleasant surprise that the AAPC site is rich in learning resources. These include industry publications, peer-reviewed journals, relevant events and news, practical and learning tools, etc. I hope to consolidate my knowledge through a mix of practical experience and theoretical understanding through the duration of the course. I would ideally need a mix of I discovered that a career in health insurance offers opportunities for continuing education. Over the years the industry has embraced information technology for its processes. So keeping up-breast with latest advances in IT is a good idea. Keeping with this view, AAPC and AHIMA offer several diploma courses and supplementary training. I realize that no amount of training and theoretical learning is a substitute for real work experience. So even as I approach the course with enthusiasm, I am gearing up for lifelong learning in the actual business environment. Finally, health insurance professionals are not as well paid on average as doctors or engineers. However, the industrious professional can reach great heights. Those professionals who approach their job responsibilities with sincerity and honesty are most likely to

пятница, 4 октября 2019 г.

Assignment (Economics) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

(Economics) - Assignment Example The adverse impact of tax hike was phenomenal for casual drinkers as they massively reduced their consumption, thereby resulting in overall decrease in aggregate beer demand. Obviously, the producers were unable to increase prices substantially considering demand / consumption pattern and thus suffered stupendous financial losses. For instance, the producers adopted downsizing strategy, which in turn resulted in 50,000 job losses. The revenues to government also declined in general as the beer industry did not record significant market expansion and growth. The demand from hardcore drinkers also reduced as they switched to other cheap drinks to ensure their balance of their financial budgets. All in all, the rollback of levies / taxes would not lead to mammoth rise in consumption; rather will reduce financial burden on producers as well as consumers. Next, consumers would not change their drinking habit and start consuming irresponsibly; therefore, this is just a myth that rollback o f beer taxes may cause grave healthcare issues. Reference Beer Tax Website â€Å"Just the Facts† Roll Back the Beer Tax http://www.rollbackthebeertax.com/

четверг, 3 октября 2019 г.

The Ways Juliet Changes in Romeo and Juliet Essay Example for Free

The Ways Juliet Changes in Romeo and Juliet Essay 1. The way in which her maturity level changes is extreme. In the 3rd scene in act 1 it shows how young she is (13) as she has not even thought of the idea of marriage. She says† It is an honour that I dream not of.† Meaning she has not thought about marriage yet. While she is doing this Romeo is still in deep sorrow about the fact that Rosaline does not love him but he loves her. These 2 points show the difference in age and maturity already as she is not having much to do with boys but Romeo is already chasing girls. A fact that is shocking to any modern day person is that she is only 13 at the beginning of the play and she is being asked about marriage. This shows the time that the play is set in as it is normal to get married at this age. Lady Capulet says, â€Å" Thou knowest my daughter’s of a pretty age† in Act 1 scene 3. Juliet also says that she will think about the idea of marriage which links onto my next point. Another thing that shows how young she is that even though she has never met Romeo before she immediately falls in love with her. This shows her immaturity. Modern day people talk about teenage love and how it is so unlikely to last and how teenagers will fall in love at first sight but never really make a relationship last. Well this is an example of that but in those days if you loved each other you would get married. The way she is only around 1 day into her relationship and is getting married shows how venerable she is which is another factor adding to her maturity level. Another factor about her maturity level is that she develops from someone who takes no risks to taking a life threatening risk. A point that shows she is young is that she is like a sheep at the beginning. Following what ever Romeo did but then she changes that and becomes more mature and thinking hard about whether Romeo is right for her. In the end she decides to do the bravest thing anyone could ever do in her situation. Though her immaturity does not think it through very well as she never though about what might happen if Romeo saw her â€Å"dead†. Both Romeo’s act of killing Tybalt and Juliet’s poison act ended up in maturity getting the better of both of them. If either of them had been more mature then Romeo would have run away rather than kill and Juliet would not of had to take the poison. 2. The way she obeys her parents explains her maturity. At the beginning she is obeying every word her parents say and then at the end she takes poison to evade marrying someone her parents have arranged a marriage with. At the beginning of the play she also trusts her nurse and obeys her as well. During the middle of the play she meets the rebellious Romeo who has met Juliet at a party after he has been mourning his loss of Rosaline, they decide in scene 6 acts 2 to get married. They enter Friar Lawrence’s cell and get married. This marriage is secret and this is the start of the times when she disobeys her parents. The final stage of her complete disobeying of her parents and nurse is when she takes the poison. She also shuns her nurse and tells her go away after she proposes that Juliet marries Paris. Her father is also extremely angry as he set up the marriage and she does not want to get married. 3. Her perception of Romeo changes dramatically through out the play as well. First of all she starts off by thinking he is wonderful and the best man to ever love and then she cannot decide whether he is evil or good. This happens after he kills Tybalt. A quote to describe her feeling for him is â€Å"Beautiful tyrant†. This oxymoron shows how she is confused about whether he is a good man or evil. She gets very defence over him though when the nurse says bad things about him. She is confused over her feeling for Romeo. Her feeling for him change through out the play as she her picture of him changes from handsome and a good man to an evil/still good man. She still loves him very much though as she risks her life for him taking poison and then ends up killing herself as her husband committed suicide think she was dead. Another quote that explains her confusion over whether Romeo is good or bad is â€Å"honourable villain† or â€Å"Upon his brow shame is ashamed to sit† These 2 quotes explain how he is honourable to her but a villain to everyone else. And also how shame would never be a characteristic about him. In summary she changes majorly throughout the whole play. From immature to mature and from not even thinking about marriage to marriage. Overall her as a character becomes an adult. No longer is she obeying her parents and not being in love. She has transformed to a proper young adult who knows what the word love means and its full values. Also she learns how important some people are to her and that if you want things your way you are going to have to take risks in order to full those wishes of hers. These wishes end in blood spill and peace between the 2 previously raging families.

The Modigliani-Miller Proposition I Theory (MM I)

The Modigliani-Miller Proposition I Theory (MM I) 1. Introduction According to many research of corporation finance, the capital structure decision is one of the most fundamental issues facing to the executives and management level. The corporate finance is a specific area of finance dealing with the financial decisions corporations make and the tools as well as analysis used to make these decisions. The discipline as a whole may be divided among long-term and short-term decisions and techniques with the primary goal being maximizing corporate value while managing the firms financial risks. Capital investment decisions are long-term choices that investment with equity or debt, and the short-term decisions deals with the balance of current assets and current liabilities which is managing cash, inventories, and short-term borrowing and lending. Corporate finance can be defined as the theory, process and techniques that corporations use to make the investing, financing and dividend decisions that ultimately contribute to maximizing corporate value.Thu s, a corporation will first decide in which projects to invest, then it will figure out how to finance them, and finally, it will decide how much money, if any, to give back to the owners. All these three dimensions which are investing, financing and distributing dividends are interrelated and mutually dependent. The capital structure of a company refers to a combination of debt, preferred stock, and common stock of finance that it uses to fund its long-term financing. Equity and debt capital are the two major sources of long-term funds for a firm. The theory of capital structure is closely related to the firms cost of capital. As the enterprises to obtain funds need to pay some costs, the cost of capital in the investment activities is also the main consideration of rate of return. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the expected rate of return on the market value of all of the firms securities. WACC depends on the mix of different securities in the capital structure; a change in the mix of different securities in the capital structure will cause a change in the WACC. Thus, there will be a mix of different securities in the capital structure at which WACC will be the least. The decision regarding the capital structure is based on the objective of achieving the maximization of shar eholders wealth. With regard to the capital structure of the theoretical basis, most well-known theory is Modigliani-Miller theorem of Franco Modigliani and Merton H.Miller (1958 and 1963). Yet the seeming simple question as to how firms should best finance their fixed assets remains a contentious issue. 2. Modigliani-Miller Proposition I The Modigliani-Miller Proposition I Theory (MM I) states that under a certain market price process, in the absence of taxes, no transaction costs, no asymmetric information and in an perfect market, the cost of capital and the value of the firm are not affected by the changed in capital structure. The firms value is determined by its real assets, not by the securities it issues. In other words, capital structure decisions are irrelevant as long as the firms investment decisions are taken as given. The Modigliani and Miller (1958) explained the theorem was originally proven under the assumption of no taxes. It is made up of two propositions that are (i) the overall cost of capital and the value of the firm are independent of the capital structure. The total market value of the firm is given by capitalizing the expected net operating income by the rate appropriate for that risk class. (ii) The financial risk increase with more debt content in the capital structure. As a result, cost of equity increases in a manner to offset exactly the low cost advantage of debt. Hence, overall cost of capital remains the same. The assumptions of the MM theory are: 1. There is a perfect capital market. Capital markets are perfect when investors are free to buy and sell securities investors can trade without restrictions and can borrow or lend funds on the same terms as the firms do investors behave rationally investors have an equal access to all relevant information capital markets are efficient no costs of financial distress and liquidation there are no taxes 2. Firms can be classified into homogeneous business risk classes. All the firms in the same risk class will have the same degree of financial risk. 3. All investors have the same view for the investment, profits and dividends in the future; they have the same expectation of a firms net operating income. 4. The dividend payout ration is 100%, which means there are no retained earnings. In the absence of tax world, base on MM Proposition I, the value of the firm is unaffected by its capital structure. In other words, regardless of whether a company has liabilities, the total risk of its securities holders will not change even the capital structure is changed. As the weighted average cost of capital unchanged, so must the same as the total value of the company. That is VL = VU = EBIT/ requity where VL is the value of a levered firm = price of buying a firm that is composed of some mix of debt and equity, VU is the value of an unlevered firm = price of buying a firm composed only of equity and EBIT is earnings before interest and tax. Whether or not the company has loans or the loans for high or low, investors are all accessible through the following two kinds of investment on their own to create the desired type of earning. 1. direct invested in the companys stock borrowing 2. if shares of levered firms are priced too high, investors will try to take advantage of borrowing on their own and use the money to buy shares in unlevered firms. The use of debt by the investors is known as homemade leverage. The investors of homemade leverage can obtain the same return as the levered firms, therefore, for investors; the value of the firm is not affected by debt-equity mix. The MM Proposition I assumptions are quite unrealistic, there have some implications, (i) Capital structure is irrelevant to shareholder wealth maximization. (ii) The value of the firm is determined by the firms capital budgeting decisions. (iii) Increasing the extent to which a firm relies on debt increases both the risk and the expected return to equity but not the price per share. (iv) Milton Harris and Artur Raviv (1991) illustrated the asymmetric information that firm managers or insiders are assumed to possess private information about the characteristics of the firms return stream or investment opportunities. They will know more about their companies prospects, risks and values than do outside investors. Then it cannot fulfill the assumption of perfect market. Based on the inadequate of MM Proposition I, Franco Modigliani and Merton H.Miller revised their theory in 1963, which is MM Proposition II. 3. Modigliani-Miller Proposition II The Modigliani-Miller Proposition II Theory (MM II) defines cost of equity is a linear function of the firms debt/equity-ratio. According to them, for any firm in a given risk class, the cost of equity is equal to the constant average cost of capital plus a premium for the financial risk, which is equal to debt/equity ratio times the spread between average cost and cost of debt. Also Modigliani and Miller (1963) recognized the importance of the existence of corporate taxes. Accordingly, they agreed that the value of the firm will increase or the cost of capital will decrease with the use of debt due to tax deductibility of interest charges. Thus, the value of corporation can be achieved by maximizing debt component in the capital structure. This theory of capital structure for the study provided an important and analytical framework. According to this approach, value of a firm is VL = VU = EBIT (1-T) / requity + TD where TD is tax savings. MM Proposition II is assuming that the tax s hield effect of each is the same, and continued in sight. Leverage firms are increased in interest expense due to reduced tax liability, has also increased the allocation to the shareholders and creditors of the cash flow. The above formula can be deduced from the company debt the more the greater the tax saving benefits, the greater the value of the company. The revised capital structure of the MM Proposition II, pointed out that the existence of tax shield in a perfect capital market conditions cannot be reached, in an imperfect financial market, the capital structure changes will affect the companys value. Therefore, the value and cost of capital of corporation with the capital structure changes in different leverage, the value of the levered firm will exceed the value of the unlevered firm. MM Proposition theory suggests that the higher the debt ratio is more favorable to corporate, but though borrowing adds an interest tax shield it may lead to costs of financial distress. Financial distress occurs when promises to creditors are broken or honored with difficulty. Financial distress may lead to bankruptcy. The trade-off theory of capital structure theory in MM based on the added risk of bankruptcy and further improves the capital structure theory, to make it more practical significance. 3.1 Trade-off Theory of capital structure According to Myers (1984), a firm that follows the trade-off theory sets a target debt to value ratio and then gradually moves towards the target. The target is determined by balancing the tax benefits of using debt against costs of financial distress that rise at an increasing rate with the use of leverage. It so predicts moderate amount of debt as optimal. But there is evidence that the most profitable firm in an industry tend to borrow the least, while their probability of entering in financial distress seems to be very low. This fact contradicts the theory because if the distress risk is low, an increase of debt has a favorable tax effect. Under the trade-off theory, high profits should mean more debt-servicing capacity and more taxable income to shield and therefore should result in a higher debt ratio. 3.2 Pecking Order Theory of capital structure The pecking order theory stems from Myers (1984) argues that adverse selection implies that retained earnings are better than debt and debt is better than equity. Firms prefer internal finance and if external finance is required, firms issue debt first and issue equity only as a last resort. The pecking order explains why the most profitable firms generally borrow less because they have low target debt ratios but they dont need outside money. As in Baskin (1989), asymmetric information affects capital structure by limiting access to outside finance. Managers know more than outside investors about the profitability and prospects of the firm. Information problems are particularly acute with common stock, announcement of stock issue can drive down the stock price. 4. Conclusion The capital structure decision is one of the most fundamental issues in corporate finance. Regardless of which kind of capital structure, to achieve one of the most optimal capital structures, the company should be mixture of equity and debt and it cannot only focus on equity or debt. Equity is a cushion and debt is a sword, debt is always cheaper than equity, partly because lenders bear less risk and partly because of the tax advantage associated with debt. In general, there are differences in the capital structures of different industries; they are having their own characteristic. The most important thing is the companys liquidity is sufficient or not. In making the decision of how to allocate the fund in which type of assets, the company has to consider and compare the different factors such as NPV, IRR and payback period. In evaluating the NPV, IRR and payback period, cash inflow is fund of the vital element. Therefore the company should know how to obtain the financing and how t o invest it. They should carefully to allocate their resources to maximize the firm value. References: Baskin, J. (1989) An empirical investigation of the pecking order hypothesis, Financial Management, Vol. 18, pp.26-35 Harris, M. and Raviv, A. (1991) The theory of Optimal capital structure, Journal of Finance, Vol. 48, pp.297-356 Merton H. Miller. (1977) Debt and Taxes, Journal of Finance, Vol. 2, pp.261-275 Modigliani, F and Miller, M.H. (1958) The cost of capital, corporation finance and the theory of investment, The American Economic Review, Vol. 48, pp.261-97 Modigliani, F. and Miller, M.H. (1963) Corporate income taxes and the cost of capital: A correction, The American Economic Review, Vol. 53, pp.433-443 Myers, S.C. (1977) Determinants of corporate borrowing, Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 5, pp.146-75 Myers, S.C. (1984) The capital structure puzzle, Journal of Finance, Vol. 39, pp.575-592

среда, 2 октября 2019 г.

How are the Female Characters Presented in the stories Country Lovers

How are the Female Characters Presented in the stories Country Lovers and Veronica The black girl Thebedi is one of the main characters in the story "Country Lovers† She lives in South Africa under the apartheid which was a system of government which involved a segregation act between whites and blacks, so she hasn't as much rights as whites do, because of this she is restricted and hampered by her culture. The Educational system started with both white and black children in primary education where they spoke local dialect and then after that the white children went to secondary education where they learnt Standard English and the blacks went to work and learnt the language of authority. There was also at the time an Immorality act which was where it was illegal for a white person to have a relationship with a black person. This made Paulus Eysendyck and Thebedi keep the love with each other secretly â€Å"She had to get away before the house servants who knew her, came in at dawn† This shows they have compassion and determination to keep the relationship going. Paulus is in charge of the relationship for example â€Å"He told her each time, where to meet again†. Paulus and Thebedi have known each other since they were children. Paulus is son of the owner of the farm where Thebedi comes to work later in the story. Paulus is a white boy, and Thebedi is a black girl. They used to play on the farm as children and had primary education together. When he comes home for the holidays, he brought her presents, and Thebedi also give him a homemade bracelet. The bracelet is admired very much by his friends at school. Meanwhile, a black young man, Njabulo, falls in love with Thebedi, and wishes that he could be the ... ...ronica the most essential issue of the story and what it all amounts to is Tradition. The life Veronica led was steeped in tradition. Every aspect of the story is based around tradition. It was traditional for men to go off to work and women to stay in the home to cook, clean and look after the children. This would explain her lack off education and why the opportunity of going to a school as a child was not open to her. There was not as many opportunities open to women because it was unusual for women to go out to work or get a job. By tradition, men have the more dominant role. Veronica was a weak female so this would explain why she took unnecessary punishment of her father when she was younger. This also would explain why women as a whole where expected to stay at home. These are the reasons why I believe Veronica did not leave for the city with Okekà ©.

A Short History of Reproductive Politics in America Essay -- health, pr

Abortion refers to a medical procedure which at times is surgical, that is used to terminate an ongoing pregnancy by expulsion of the placenta and the fetus before it is mature or viable. There are several reasons why abortion may be procured. Some reasons could be personal in the case of a pregnancy that was not planned for, others could be medical. Medical reasons could be a wide range but focusing on the health of the mother or the baby. If carrying a pregnancy to term would affect the health of the mother either physically or mentally an abortion would be recommended (Solinger 2005).cited with MLA styles When abortion is done in consideration to the health of the unborn child it is when it’s determined that the child could have dire mental or physical disabilities. The mode and means undertaken to perform the process depend on how advanced the pregnancy is, the safety and also in some cases the legality. Abortion has been performed for long periods of time and has been passed over the generations. The methods used have evolved over these generations with some proving fatal and others working like they had been expected to. In recent times, abortion can be performed safely due to numerous advances in technology and in medicine. Before 1973 abortion was not legal in the U.S and various methods were used in procuring abortions. Some of these were crude in every sense and were performed in back-alleys either, by medical professionals or by crooks (Solinger 2005). Many a time, they proved fatal to the young women who sought them and resulted in death. Some died of the abortion procedure itself while many more died of infections after the procedure. As a result, many women struggled to keep abortions a secret due to its i... ...urces. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. . Blake, J.. "Abortion And Public Opinion: The 1960-1970 Decade." Science 171.3971 (1971): 540-549. Print. Halfmann, Drew. "Historical Priorities And The Responses Of Doctors' Associations To Abortion Reform Proposals In Britain And The United States, 1960-1973." Social Problems 50.4 (2003): 567-591. Print. Hull, N. E. H., and Peter Charles Hoffer.Roe v. Wade: the abortion rights controversy in American history. Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas, 2001. Print. Williams, Mary E.. Abortion: opposing viewpoints. San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press, 2002. Print. Brown, James. "Study findings from Linkoping University broaden understanding of induced abortion.." New York Times 22 Apr. 2010: 45-47. Print. Alphabetize and indent all 2nd, 3rd of citation Italicize tittle of books

вторник, 1 октября 2019 г.

Current Generational Differences in Attitudes Toward the Role of Religion in America Essay

In the United States, its citizens are categorized by their date of birth into four commonly known generations. The individuals born anytime before 1946 are considered Pre-Boomers, individuals born between 1946 and 1964 are known as Boomers, individuals born between 1965 and 1976 are known as Generation X, and last but not least is Generation Y, which are individuals born anytime after 1977. The individuals categorized in each of these generations tend to share similar values and views on things such as religion, culture and politics. These segregated differences in views are also known as generational gaps. â€Å"A generation gap is commonly perceived to refer to differences between generations that cause conflict and complicate communication, creating a gap. † (Adcox, 2012) Research shows that there are many other differences between each generation in America, however the generational differences in attitudes toward religion tend to be very apparent. During this study of the generational differences in attitudes toward religion, the research center made three statements giving Americans the option to agree or completely agree with each one. The three statements included: â€Å"Prayer is an important part of my daily life, We will all be called before God at the Judgment Day to answer for our sins, and I never doubt the existence of God. † (Pew Research Center Publications, 2007) In past years, eight out of ten Americans agreed with these three statements and the agreement of these three statements between the generations rose dramatically during the 1990’s. Then , the majority of Americans believed that religion and personal beliefs were extremely important and a vast majority belonged to a religious affiliation. However, the percentage of generational agreement has started to fall within recent years as the new generations start to come about. During the years of 1987 through 2007, The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press also conducted a study in hopes of comparing the religious attitudes of each generation. The study showed that while the majority of Americans have remained religious throughout the years in both their practices and beliefs, the percentage of Americans that expressed strong religious beliefs have dwindled down drastically since the 1990’s. Not surprisingly, the percentage of individuals who chose not to be affiliated with any one religion has increased with each new generation, showing a decrease in religious commitment. The study showed that between the years 2006 and 2007, 19% of Generation Y, 14% of Generation X, 11% of Boomers, and 5% of Pre-Boomers were either atheist, agnostic, or had no religion. There have always been and will always be differences between each generation and their views on certain hot topics, such as religion. As new generations come about, I feel that the attitude towards religion in America will continue to decrease on a level of importance as well as the level of beliefs. The newer generations will of course outlast the older generations which will then in turn outlast their beliefs regarding religion and its importance. The newer generations will instill their values of religious importance on to the next generation and slowly, I believe religion may no longer be of any importance to the majority of Americans. References: Looking at the Generation Gap: Identifying Generational Differences and Their Causes. Adcox, Susan. (2012). Retrieved on July 5, 2012, from: About. com: http://grandparents. about. com/od/grandparentingtoday/a/GenerationGap. htm Trends in Attitudes Toward Religion and Social Issues: 1987-2007. Pew Research Center Publications. (2007). Retrieved on July 5, 2012, from: Pew Research Center: Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World: http://pewresearch. org/pubs/614/religion-social-issues